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EFL Cup
The EFL Cup, or simply the League Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. Organised by the English Football League (EFL), it is open to any club within the top four levels of the English football league system – 92 clubs in total – comprising the top level Premier League, and the three divisions of the English Football League's own league competition (Championship, League One and League Two). First held in 1960–61 as the Football League Cup, it is one of the three top domestic football competitions in England, alongside the Premier League and FA Cup. It concludes in February, long before the other two, which end in May. It was introduced by the league as a response to the growing popularity of European football, and to also exert power over the FA. It also took advantage of the roll-out of floodlights, allowing the fixtures to be played as midweek evening games. With the renaming of the Football League as the English Football League in 2016, the tournament was rebranded as the EFL Cup from the 2016–17 season onwards. The tournament is played over seven rounds, with single leg ties throughout, except the semi-finals. The final is held at Wembley Stadium; it is the only tie in the competition played at a neutral venue and on a weekend (Sunday). Entrants are seeded in the early rounds, and a system of byes based on league level ensures higher ranked teams enter in later rounds, and to defer the entry of teams still involved in Europe. Winners receive the EFL Cup, of which there have been three designs, the current one also being the original. Winners also qualify for European football with a place in the UEFA Europa League – although this place is transferred to the highest-placed Premier League team not already qualified for European competition, should the winner also qualify for Europe through other means at the end of the season. The current holders are Manchester United, who beat Manchester City 2–1 in the 2019 final to win their record tenth title. Records *Most tournament wins (team): 10 wins, Manchester United *Most final appearances (team): 14, Manchester United *Most tournament wins (individual): 7, Wayne Rooney for Manchester United (2005, 2009, 2010, 2014–2017) *Most final appearances: (individual): 7, Wayne Rooney for Manchester United (2005, 2009, 2010, 2014–2017) *Most semi final appearances (team): 17, Liverpool *Highest goalscorer (career): Geoff Hurst, Ian Rush 49 goals *Highest goalscorer (season): Clive Allen, for Tottenham Hotspur, 12 goals in 1986–87 *Most goals scored in a match (individual): 6 goals, by Frankie Bunn for Oldham Athletic vs Scarborough, 25 October 1989 *Biggest win: **Liverpool 10–0 Fulham, second round first leg, 23 September 1986 **West Ham United 10–0 Bury, second round second leg, 25 October 1983 *Biggest aggregate win in a semi-final: **Manchester City 9–0 West Ham United (6–0 at the City of Manchester Stadium and 3–0 at the Boleyn Ground), January 2014 **Manchester United 11–2 Sunderland (7–0 at Old Trafford and 4–2 at the Stadium of Light), January 2014 *Biggest win in a final: Swansea City 5–0 Bradford City, 24 February 2013 *Highest scoring game: **Reading 5–7 Arsenal, fourth round, 30 October 2012 **Dagenham & Redbridge 6–6 Brentford, first round, 12 August 2014 **Swansea City 3–9 Manchester United, fourth round, 24 October 2017 **Bristol City 2–10 Manchester United, quarter-finals, 20 December 2017 *Most penalties in a deciding penalty shootout: 32 – Derby County 14–13 Carlisle United (23 August 2016) *Youngest player: Ashley Chambers, 15 years 203 days, for Leicester City vs Blackpool, 2005 *Youngest goalscorer in the final: Norman Whiteside, 17 years 324 days, for Manchester United vs Liverpool, 1983 *Youngest captain in the final: Barry Venison, 20 years, 7 months 8 days, for Sunderland vs Norwich City, 1985